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A Duel of Giants
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The Austro-Prussian War and Franco-Prussian War: The History of the Wars That Led to Prussia’s Unification of Germany
- By: Charles River Editors
- Narrated by: Ken Teutsch
- Length: 2 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 28
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 25
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Story4 out of 5 stars 25
Prussian leaders, especially Otto von Bismarck, the chancellor and advisor to Prussia’s king, believed Prussia could be a united power, but only without the traditional Austrian dominance. At the time, the Austrian empire was a collection of ethnically diverse peoples and had been dominated by a socio-political conservatism that sought to keep the empire ruled in Hapsburg tradition. After Prussia was victorious in the Austro-Prussian War, Bismarck played a waiting game where the unification of Germany was concerned, as the joining of the southern states would have to be overcome.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Learned a lot
- By Samuel Kuntz on 08-09-19
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Iron Kingdom
- The Rise and Downfall of Prussia, 1600-1947
- By: Christopher Clark
- Narrated by: Shaun Grindell
- Length: 28 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 635
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 578
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Story4 out of 5 stars 579
In the aftermath of World War II, Prussia - a centuries-old state pivotal to Europe's development - ceased to exist. In their eagerness to erase all traces of the Third Reich from the earth, the Allies believed that Prussia, the very embodiment of German militarism, had to be abolished. But as Christopher Clark reveals in this pioneering history, Prussia's legacy is far more complex.
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4 out of 5 stars
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If you are looking for a very detailed accounting of Prussian history this is it.
- By Jeff Wise on 10-04-17
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A War Like No Other
- How the Athenians and Spartans Fought the Peloponnesian War
- By: Victor Davis Hanson
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 13 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 7
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 7
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Story5 out of 5 stars 7
Hanson compellingly portrays the ways Athens and Sparta fought on land and sea, in city and countryside, and details their employment of the full scope of conventional and non-conventional tactics, from sieges to targeted assassinations, torture, and terrorism. He also assesses the crucial roles played by warriors such as Pericles and Lysander, artists, among them Aristophanes, and thinkers including Sophocles and Plato.
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Bismarck
- The Man and the Statesman
- By: A.J.P. Taylor
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 48
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 45
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 43
In this compelling biography, historian A. J. P. Taylor reevaluates Bismarck's motives and methods, focusing on the chancellor's rise to power in the 1860s and his removal from office in 1890.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Good, but read a primer first
- By Paolo Menuez on 06-12-18
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Blitzkrieg
- From the Ground Up
- By: Niklas Zetterling
- Narrated by: Roger Clark
- Length: 11 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 27
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 24
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 24
The successes of the German Blitzkrieg in 1939-41 were as surprising as they were swift. Allied decision-makers wanted to discover the secret to German success quickly, even though only partial, incomplete information was available to them. The false conclusions drawn became myths about the Blitzkrieg that have lingered for decades.
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5 out of 5 stars
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An interesting perspective
- By OCreviewer on 09-11-19
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Europe
- A History
- By: Norman Davies
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 61 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 117
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 111
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 109
Norman Davies captures it all - the rise and fall of Rome, the sweeping invasions of Alaric and Atilla, the Norman Conquests, the Papal struggles for power, the Renaissance and the Reformation, the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, Europe's rise to become the powerhouse of the world, and its eclipse in our own century, following two devastating World Wars.
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5 out of 5 stars
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My Favorite Historian
- By bernickus on 05-14-19
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The Austro-Prussian War and Franco-Prussian War: The History of the Wars That Led to Prussia’s Unification of Germany
- By: Charles River Editors
- Narrated by: Ken Teutsch
- Length: 2 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 28
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 25
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 25
Prussian leaders, especially Otto von Bismarck, the chancellor and advisor to Prussia’s king, believed Prussia could be a united power, but only without the traditional Austrian dominance. At the time, the Austrian empire was a collection of ethnically diverse peoples and had been dominated by a socio-political conservatism that sought to keep the empire ruled in Hapsburg tradition. After Prussia was victorious in the Austro-Prussian War, Bismarck played a waiting game where the unification of Germany was concerned, as the joining of the southern states would have to be overcome.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Learned a lot
- By Samuel Kuntz on 08-09-19
-
Iron Kingdom
- The Rise and Downfall of Prussia, 1600-1947
- By: Christopher Clark
- Narrated by: Shaun Grindell
- Length: 28 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 635
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 578
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 579
In the aftermath of World War II, Prussia - a centuries-old state pivotal to Europe's development - ceased to exist. In their eagerness to erase all traces of the Third Reich from the earth, the Allies believed that Prussia, the very embodiment of German militarism, had to be abolished. But as Christopher Clark reveals in this pioneering history, Prussia's legacy is far more complex.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
If you are looking for a very detailed accounting of Prussian history this is it.
- By Jeff Wise on 10-04-17
-
A War Like No Other
- How the Athenians and Spartans Fought the Peloponnesian War
- By: Victor Davis Hanson
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 13 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 7
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 7
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 7
Hanson compellingly portrays the ways Athens and Sparta fought on land and sea, in city and countryside, and details their employment of the full scope of conventional and non-conventional tactics, from sieges to targeted assassinations, torture, and terrorism. He also assesses the crucial roles played by warriors such as Pericles and Lysander, artists, among them Aristophanes, and thinkers including Sophocles and Plato.
-
Bismarck
- The Man and the Statesman
- By: A.J.P. Taylor
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 48
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 45
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 43
In this compelling biography, historian A. J. P. Taylor reevaluates Bismarck's motives and methods, focusing on the chancellor's rise to power in the 1860s and his removal from office in 1890.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Good, but read a primer first
- By Paolo Menuez on 06-12-18
-
Blitzkrieg
- From the Ground Up
- By: Niklas Zetterling
- Narrated by: Roger Clark
- Length: 11 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 27
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 24
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 24
The successes of the German Blitzkrieg in 1939-41 were as surprising as they were swift. Allied decision-makers wanted to discover the secret to German success quickly, even though only partial, incomplete information was available to them. The false conclusions drawn became myths about the Blitzkrieg that have lingered for decades.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
An interesting perspective
- By OCreviewer on 09-11-19
-
Europe
- A History
- By: Norman Davies
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 61 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 117
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 111
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 109
Norman Davies captures it all - the rise and fall of Rome, the sweeping invasions of Alaric and Atilla, the Norman Conquests, the Papal struggles for power, the Renaissance and the Reformation, the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, Europe's rise to become the powerhouse of the world, and its eclipse in our own century, following two devastating World Wars.
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5 out of 5 stars
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My Favorite Historian
- By bernickus on 05-14-19
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The Franco-Prussian War: The History of the War that Established the German Empire
- By: Charles River Editors
- Narrated by: Bill Hare
- Length: 1 hr and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 9
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 8
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Story4 out of 5 stars 8
After Prussia was victorious in the Austro-Prussian War, Bismarck played a waiting game where the unification of Germany was concerned, as the joining of the southern states - initially resistant to Prussian rule, friendly with Austria, and bent on independence - would have to be overcome. What was needed was “a clear case of French aggression” toward either Prussia or the southern states. Not only would such a move by Emperor Napoleon III trigger the terms of the treaty between the German states, but it would keep the remaining world powers out of the conflict.
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The Collapse of the Third Republic
- An Inquiry into the Fall of France in 1940
- By: William L. Shirer
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 48 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 198
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 183
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Story5 out of 5 stars 180
As an international war correspondent and radio commentator, William L. Shirer didn't just research the fall of France. He was there. In just six weeks, he watched the Third Reich topple one of the world's oldest military powers - and institute a rule of terror and paranoia. Based on in-person conversation with the leaders, diplomats, generals, and ordinary citizens who both shaped the events of this time and lived through them on a daily basis, Shirer shapes a compelling account of historical events - without losing sight of the personal experience.
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5 out of 5 stars
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William Shirer and Grover Gardner Do it Again!
- By Michael on 05-30-19
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Napoleon
- A Life
- By: Andrew Roberts
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 32 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,115
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,739
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,726
Andrew Roberts' Napoleon is the first one-volume biography to take advantage of the recent publication of Napoleon's thirty-three thousand letters, which radically transform our understanding of his character and motivation. At last we see him as he was: protean multitasker, decisive, surprisingly willing to forgive his enemies and his errant wife Josephine.
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4 out of 5 stars
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What a dynamo!
- By Tad Davis on 01-16-15
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The Madness of Crowds
- Gender, Race and Identity
- By: Douglas Murray
- Narrated by: Douglas Murray
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,687
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,558
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Story5 out of 5 stars 1,539
In his devastating new book The Madness of Crowds, Douglas Murray examines the 21st century’s most divisive issues: sexuality, gender, technology and race. He reveals the astonishing new culture wars playing out in our workplaces, universities, schools and homes in the names of social justice, identity politics and ‘intersectionality’. We are living through a postmodern era in which the grand narratives of religion and political ideology have collapsed.
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5 out of 5 stars
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An Urgent Read for Our Over-woke Times
- By Justin J. Norman on 09-26-19
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The Fall of Carthage
- The Punic Wars 265-146BC
- By: Adrian Goldsworthy
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 16 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 562
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 510
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 511
The struggle between Rome and Carthage in the Punic Wars was arguably the greatest and most desperate conflict of antiquity. The forces involved and the casualties suffered by both sides were far greater than in any wars fought before the modern era, while the eventual outcome had far-reaching consequences for the history of the Western World, namely the ascendancy of Rome. An epic of war and battle, this is also the story of famous generals and leaders: Hannibal, Fabius Maximus, Scipio Africanus, and his grandson Scipio Aemilianus, who would finally bring down the walls of Carthage.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Captivating
- By Jean on 03-25-19
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The Pursuit of Power
- Europe: 1815-1914
- By: Richard J. Evans
- Narrated by: Napoleon Ryan
- Length: 41 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 451
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 414
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 409
Richard J. Evans's gripping narrative ranges across a century of social and national conflicts, from the revolutions of 1830 and 1848 to the unification of both Germany and Italy, from the Russo-Turkish wars to the Balkan upheavals that brought this era of relative peace and growing prosperity to an end. The first single-volume history of the century, this comprehensive and sweeping account gives the listener a magnificently human picture of Europe in the age when it dominated the rest of the globe.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Terrific comprehensive history
- By Awake Tex on 02-02-17
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The Influence of Seapower Upon History
- By: Alfred T. Mahan
- Narrated by: Jonathan Reese
- Length: 20 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 79
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Performance3 out of 5 stars 49
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Story4 out of 5 stars 47
In 1886, the U.S. had no navy to speak of. But it did have Alfred T. Mahan, a captain of the U.S. Navy who had spent much of his career observing the exemplary fleets of the British Empire. At age 46, Mahan was just 10 years short of retirement age when the newly formed Naval and War College at Newport, Rhode Island, asked him to lecture on naval history and tactics. Out of these lectures grew a book that would change the world. It's no exaggeration that The Influence of Seapower Upon History affected the outcome of both great world wars. When it was first published in 1890, prime ministers, kings, admirals, and chancellors eagerly studied its strategies, which England first employed to rule the seas. Likewise, all the major powers have used it to shape imperial policies.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Great book, poor quality recording
- By Michael on 05-19-10
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Crucible of War
- The Seven Years' War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754-1766
- By: Fred Anderson
- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 29 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 212
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 194
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 197
In this vivid and compelling narrative, the Seven Years' War - long seen as a mere backdrop to the American Revolution - takes on a whole new significance. Relating the history of the war as it developed, Anderson shows how the complex array of forces brought into conflict helped both to create Britain's empire and to sow the seeds of its eventual dissolution. Beginning with a skirmish in the Pennsylvania backcountry involving an inexperienced George Washington, the Iroquois chief Tanaghrisson, and the ill-fated French emissary Jumonville, Anderson reveals a chain of events that would lead to world conflagration.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A Detailed History
- By Daniel on 07-15-18
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Lenin
- The Man, the Dictator, and the Master of Terror
- By: Victor Sebestyen
- Narrated by: Jonathan Aris
- Length: 20 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 289
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 262
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 251
Drawing on new research, including the diaries, memoirs, and personal letters of both Lenin and his friends, Victor Sebestyen's unique biography - the first in English in nearly two decades - is not only a political examination of one of the most important historical figures of the 20th century but a portrait of Lenin the man. Unexpectedly, Lenin was someone who loved nature, hunting, and fishing and could identify hundreds of species of plants, a despotic ruler whose closest ties and friendships were with women.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Lenin totally took an extra piece of that cake.
- By John Gathly on 05-14-19
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1941: The Year Germany Lost the War
- By: Andrew Nagorski
- Narrated by: Michael David Axtell
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 28
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 28
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 28
Best-selling historian Andrew Nagorski takes a fresh look at the decisive year 1941, when Hitler’s miscalculations and policy of terror propelled Churchill, FDR, and Stalin into a powerful new alliance that defeated Nazi Germany.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Interesting but problematic
- By Thor Olson on 06-14-19
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Emperor
- A New Life of Charles V
- By: Geoffrey Parker
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 26 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 37
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 33
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 33
The life of Emperor Charles V (1500-1558), ruler of Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, and much of Italy and Central and South America, has long intrigued biographers. But the elusive nature of the man (despite an abundance of documentation), his relentless travel and the control of his own image, together with the complexity of governing the world's first transatlantic empire, complicate the task.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Amazing.
- By bigdjunta on 10-21-19
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Legion versus Phalanx
- The Epic Struggle for Infantry Supremacy in the Ancient World
- By: Myke Cole
- Narrated by: Alexander Cendese
- Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 879
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 813
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Story4 out of 5 stars 811
From the time of Ancient Sumeria, the heavy infantry phalanx dominated the battlefield. Armed with spears or pikes, standing shoulder to shoulder, and with overlapping shields, they presented an impenetrable wall of wood and metal to the enemy. It was the phalanx that allowed Greece to become the dominant power in the Western world. That is, until the Romans developed the legion and cracked the phalanx.
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5 out of 5 stars
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It's Great After First Few Chapters
- By Jonathon Hawk on 05-26-19
Publisher's Summary
Combining impeccable scholarship and literary elegance, David Wetzel depicts the drama of machinations and passions that exploded in a war that forever changed the face of European history.
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Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Diggidy Dog 99
- 08-05-17
Good book, Baaaaad narration
I am very interested the Franco-Prussian war and I was very excited about listening to this audio book. However, the narrator's constant whistling while he is talking drove me crazy. I had to return the book after listening for about 10 minutes. I don't know if this book was recorded in a closet somewhere or if the audio engineer is incompetent, but that audio book is terrible.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Keaton
- 05-15-18
Ends before the war begins!
This book is ONLY the background and lead up to the war. There is zero information on the relative strengths of the armies, the commanders, or any of the actual maneuvers. The title is deceptive, the book ends with the outbreak and does not cover the war itself. Not worth the read.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- S. Moorcroft
- 10-31-17
AJP Taylor Lives
This is history in the Alan Taylor style, big characters making key decisions, with a strong strand of Taylor revisionism, even down to Taylor's sympathetic treatment of Bismark. History as cock-up rather than conspiracy or grand strategy. Entertaing if a little frivolous at times. A good listen.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful